Orange County Real Estate Market Update

From rising rents and housing starts, to decreasing inventory levels and market time, the housing market rebound appears to be in full swing. If you are interested in receiving a weekly round-up of Orange County real estate news, sign up for our RSS feed to receive instant updates regarding real estate in all Orange County cities including Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

FORECAST SAYS RENTS WILL RISE FOR 2 YEARS

Renters, beware! Landlords will have the upper hand in the pricing game for the next 2 years. Rents are to rise 5.1% over the next 2 years.

ECONOMIST SEES SIGNS OF ACTIVITY

·Housing starts up 19% from the pace over the prior 12 months
·At current pace, apartment construction in 2012 would be highest since 2005
·National Association of REALTORS® February confidence index at highest level since survey began in 2008.

BEST HOUSING MARKET SINCE 2005, NUMBERS SHOW

Orange County is seeing its best housing market since the final days of the housing boom in 2005, with the number of homes for sale at their lowest level in nearly seven years and the number of sales contracts in progress at their second-highest level in that period.

The “market time” or the time it would take to sell all 6,615 listings at the current sales pace, fell to 52 days. That’s the shortest market time since August 2005.

As this scenario drags on, it will only be a matter of time before prices start to really rise again.
If you are a buyer stepping into the market, it feels like 2004 and 2005.